Hi, I wanted to get some opinions/advice regarding an issue I have and wanted to know what the general feeling, or even better someone who has experienced this problem and what the outcome was.... I purchased an Audi A3 1.8TFSI and the car has the same oil consumption issue as the 2.0 TFSI (mainly Audi A5's but A3 and other models also). I went for the 1.8TFSI as I didn't think it had the same oil consumption issue but it appears it does, just less well known. My local Audi dealer is doing all of the tests and in a couple of weeks they will have all of the details to put forward to Audi UK for a solution and a cost and what they expect me to contribute towards it if I have the work done. Audi say that the more main dealer services you have had, the more favourable this will be looked at and and if you were to have the next service with them, this would help also. Through speaking with my contact, he seems to think that the dealer that sold me the car (non Audi) could be liable for the cost of any repairs as he sold the car to me and the car clearly has a fault. I countered this by saying the dealer is likely to say it's a known Audi issue therefore the issue is with Audi and they are liable. Who is liable?? The dealer who sold the car or Audi? Thanks in advance.

Hi All I've received a letter from Monarch, a debit collection agency, stating that they are pursuing me for a debit of £12 (yes £12!!!) on behalf of an old Talk Talk mobile account I had. I haven't used the mobile number or sim for at least three years. The sim came free when I joined TT for one of their broadband, TV and phone packages about 6 years ago. I contacted Talk Talk in December by phone and they said that the monthly charge I was liable for had been introduced from July 2017. Unfortunately they had my old email address and they sent notification to that old email address about the new proposed charge. I did contact TT when I changed my email address but apparently my TT mobile account was a separate account and they weren't notified. If I had known that I was now going to be charged for something I no longer used, I would have asked them to cancel the account. The person on the phone at TT was not very helpful or sympathetic after I explained the situation and only offered me a reduced payment of £9. I don't feel that I should have to pay this amount especially as I haven't been using the mobile account for three years and I'm considering ignoring it as it's such a small amount. Do I have to worry about this debt or does anybody know if they will take any further action via small claims court? Any help or advice will be gratefully received. Many thanks Bachingmad

Hi All, My first post - please be gentle this is a very stressful and difficult time! Back in Feb I received a PCN from Manchester CC. I can't recall why I was even in Manchester or anything about the circumstances. I was pregnant at the time and unfortunately lost my baby in April. From there everything went to pot. I couldn't cope with day-to-day life, I left my job and things that should have been sorted just, well, weren't. Fast forward a few months and I received a letter from Equita stating that they had a court warrant to deal with this. Having had nothing from the court myself, I wrote back asking for a certified copy. Nothing materialised and I forgot all about the matter - still not quite back to myself in terms of organisation! Last Tuesday a bailiff from Equita attended my property. I explained the situation to him but he clamped my car giving me one week to sort something out. I offered a payment plan but this was refused. I was NOT given a Notice of Immobilisation nor was one placed on the car. I did NOT sign a Controlled Goods Agreement. The only paperwork left for me was a notice which would have been posted if I had not been in (informing me they had been and would return on X time etc.) I emailed Equita that day again requesting copies of the warrant and a copy of the Notice of Enforcement giving me 7 days notice of attendance. On Thursday I received a letter from Equita, a Notice of Intention, which stated it may still be possible to make a payment plan. It was dated the Monday, one day prior to the bailiff turning up. I called Equita and the chap was extremely rude and talked over me constantly. He said the letter said 'may be possible' and that it was not possible. I argued it was unfair to send a letter out on one day then send a bailiff before I had chance to even receive it, let alone respond. I also received another letter on Tuesday this week stating they enclosed copies of what I asked for - but with nothing enclosed. I am currently 14 weeks pregnant and have been quite poorly over the last week with a severe chest infection. Today I contacted the National Debt Helpline and they helped me to draft a vulnerability letter which I have emailed to the bailiffs and Manchester Council. I called the council to let them know the situation. The lady was lovely and asked me to phone the TEC to make an appeal (which I have done and sent after speaking with them and explaining the situation). In my letter to the bailiff by email I put them on notice that I have appealed to the TEC. Should they now remove the clamp whilst this is going on? Without a Notice of Immobilisation or CGA is the clamp there legally? I would appreciate any advice! TIA

Hi, new on here. I have also had same letter arrive (in my previous married name even though i told them my new surname)yesterday stating HPH2 taken over the debt. Yes i have a debt, stupidly entered into during marriage but genuinely thought if we split debt would be shared between both me and Ex husband. This is an AA Loan of £3920 Ex has gone underground so now after just me. Statue barred could you explain if it is from last payment made or last communication with debt company. I communicated 2014 advising financial situation and it went on hold. I last made a payment to AA in 2012 i think when i just couldnt manage payments on my own. Could anyone advise do i contact them and wait the high demand for money or sit tight and see if they try again. Thank you for any help.

Hi all, I have for the past few months been in dispute with Lowell regarding an old Studio account, now because they now have confirmation of where I live - they seem to have linked a really old account from Cabot (this was an old Barclays overdraft from over 10 years ago) which i'm sure we haven't made contact or payment on for well over 6 - however i can't be 100%. Is there a way of finding out for definite? The first letter went along the lines of 'now we know where you live blah blah - you owe £***'. Two weeks later another letter arrived saying we will accept £55 to clear the balance lol - why would they do this? is it because they know the debt is unenforceable and are out for any amount? The debt doesn't show on any credit report. .. what's the best course of action? Thank you in advance M

I purchased a washing machine from Appliancesdirect and it failed to work properly from day1. A few days later I read the Trouble Shooting guide in the handbook. It suggested the fault was a shortage of water getting to the machine. I reported this to AD and their advisors agreed it looked like a faulty installation problem and they would get their carrier to come and check it out. Their carrier, Arrow XL ,did the installation. After many phone calls @13p/minute, and emails, I was informed that Arrow would send someone out the next day to check the machine. This failed to happen and no phone call to advise job was cancelled. After complaining further to AD, and asking that they honour the Consumer Protection Act they still failed to respond. I formally rejected the machine and an advisor informed me they certainly would not uplift it. They now stonewall me. This firm are trading outside consumer laws of this country and there appears no fiscal organisation to tackle them. Trading Standards don't want to know. I seriously advise anyone looking to buy electronic gadgets or Air Con to thoroughly check out their intended supplier first.

Car repair cost amount to the approx. value of the car, your customer service tell me they can send salvage agent to collect ( then they will valve car and negotiate a value) how about don't be silly its going nowhere till any payment is agreed and cleared, or 2/ they can send an independent assessor out and I could then decide how I want to proceed and if he deems car a write off it will be categorised whether I claim or not (so your devaluing my vehicle if I don't claim but an assessor come to inspect it ( sounds like a bad joke) 3/ or I can choose a repairer of my own and my excess will be doubled (so a more reasonable repair shop you will pay less towards repair I will have to pay more seems my only option would be buy car back and get it repaired (which shouldn't be a problem as its still roadworthy (so local fiat agent tell me) seems that's a no go also, where does the comprehensive come into it, and realistically what can I do, because you're not working within the consumer rights as your excess policy is attemption to adversely affect my descision

I am a new user to this forum so I don't know if any one can help. I completed an I.V.A. and got the completion certificate in October 2016. I also have a letter of no interest in any P.P.I. or subsequent awards. If I claim for P.P.I. redress will I receive this or can it be used as set-off

Hi I'm new here but would like to ask has anybody taken Parcel2Go to small claims and won? My case is: I instructed P2G to pick up and deliver a very heavy 33kg Subwoofer speaker to my address without taking their extra insurance. Its was delivered a couple of day later with broken corners and a grill that was recessed into the unit. I'm taking them to SCC under section 54 of the consumers rights act 2015 holding them of negligence and in breach of contract by operforming reasonable care and skill in delivering this item. A last letter of action was sent and I'm now looking at a Notice of proposed allocation to the small claims Track which needs to be sent before 20 July. P2G have sent 12 pages defending the claim Any advise or help - Thanks

Hi All In brief my son bought a car 3 weeks ago and applied for the log book (he had the green slip). Whilst parked outside our house it got clamped because of a parking fine the previous owner had incurred. Despite my son having the log book back and in his name the bailiff is yet to remove the clamp claiming that the system his end has not been updated. DVLA have advised we call the police but I know they won't be interested. The car is obviously illegally clamped but where would we stand if we removed it? Thanks in advance

Hi, With ref to : https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?483974-ADVICE-required-Defendant-insurer-refusing-to-pay-for-credit-hire-vehicle I was just reading up on hire company car issues and have found myself in a similar situation described earlier this year in the forum. I had a car accident a few weeks ago and I was not at fault and my insurance company have referred me on to the solicitors and they offered to repair my car and give me a hire car to use, which I accepted as I believed this was something I was entitled to since I was not at fault. I am now being asked to provide all my bank details and find this very bizarre. I have called the solicitors and they say that they plan to get all costs covered by the other person's car insurance, which brings me back to why am I providing my bank details?? I came across this forum and began reading your posts on the forum to get advice and see if other people have been in this situation. May I ask what happened with your situation? Did the solicitors manage to claim back costs from the other insurance company? Did you encounter any other further problems/costs? and were you happy to pass on your bank statements? I have never dealt with an insurance claim before and thought this was going to be a simple to ensure my car is repaired, but have realised there is a lot more to this. I read in the forum that you did pass on you bank details to the solicitors. Did you find this was a safe thing to do or did they make you pay for anything? Is this all a normal process??? Many Thanks.

Hi, I have received a letter from DCBL which states: "Your overdue amount of £269.48 due to Excel parking services ltd in relation to a county court judgement number xxxxxx has now been passed to DCBL to recover the debt on their behalf" It also mentions a further £75 + vat charge. I have searched lots of forums and the advice has been consistent to ignore all letters from Excel parking or any debt recovery firms. i am concerned this letter mentions CCJ number which suggests a CCJ has been issued. I dont recall receiving any court letters, although i have changed address. Normally, I would ignore these letters as per the advice on the various forums but im worried if a CCJ has really been issued and what I should in this case? Should i respond to DCBL? Should i contact the court (and if so, which court would i need to contact as i have not had any details)? Or should i continue to ignore? Please help as i am really stressed out now Many thanks in advance for any advice/help. Cheers

I'm looking for some advice please. I have been looking to claim back PPI which was provided under a consolidation I did some years ago. It seems very complicated to me and I have put it off for a long while. Recently however a close friend of mine who had the exact same set of circumstances has made a successful claim. My big problem is that he has paid £5000 in fees by his claim company. So out of a total £11000 claim he has only received £6000. This seems ridiculous! The story is that I was approached by Carrington Carr, who persuaded me that consolidating my debts was a great idea, so I did. This included my car, double glazing and all sorts! This isn't really the issue though. The new mortgage was through Northern Rock (Problem 1). The PPI policy I bought was lumped on top of my mortgage amount, which now I know to be a ridiculous idea. On top of that I had my legal fees lumped on top and a fee from Carrington Carr that would provide their ongoing services for free (Haha!). Carrington Carr are no longer, Northern Rock are no longer! So how on earth do I approach this without paying a claims company an extortionate fee? Assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I am currently in a similar situation and wondered if you can give me a bit of advice. https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?472364-Advice-needed-Claims-management-company-court-case&p=5087639#post5087639 Like you i accepted a hire vehicle after a non fault accident and told auxillis/principia that i was not in a financial position to pay for a hire car myself upfront. I don't consider myself to be in a financial position despite savings accounts, as the savings are for a purpose and i didn't think that it was reasonable for me to go into my savings to foot the bill for a hire car, with no idea what the cost would be/when i would be reimbursed. Principia are still having issues claiming back the hire car charges from the defendants insurers and i am at the stage where i need to provide bank statements. If you don't mind me asking, how has it gone for you in terms of having savings in the bank? I can justify the reasons why i have sums of money in various bank accounts (saving for a wedding etc), but do they take this on board when you submit all of your financial details to them? Any advice is much appreciated as i am stressed the death!!

Hi I am not sure I am posting in the right section so apologies in advance. I bought a humanoid robot, ordered in May (2017), received June. It developed a fault in July after general setup. Contacted the reseller I bought it from and he advised me to send the robot back to the manufacturer in Paris. I logged a support call with the manufacturer they went through the process of checking, asking me to do various things including sending them videos of the fault which they eventually confirmed that it needed to be returned for repair. I thought nothing of it (I now realise, I should have requested a refund or replacement -as it was within 30 days). I paid the courier service to return the robot to Paris after nearly a month the robot was returned, with nothing to indicate what had been done to it or what the problem was with it. I sent an email asking this question had no response from the support department. Please note that the robot is an essential part of my work as I teach robotics and run workshops during that time I had to cancel my bookings and shift things around a bit until I got it back. Since the robot's return in September, I have had a number of deaths in my family so had not spent much time using the robot. I used it to create a programme which I could not finish because of the family issues. Everything seemed ok when I did use it although a couple of occasions displayed the same issue it had gone for repair for. As it wasn't significant I had ignored it. A couple of weeks ago I was at a meeting with a large company who offered me some consultancy work where they were interested in running a project with my robot, I decided to create a programme to use as a demonstration for them. In doing so the robot started demonstrating the original fault this time worse than before (problem with the motors which caused it to constantly crash). I videoed this as best as I could whilst holding it so as not to damage it. I contacted the reseller and demanded from him to sort out the issue between him and the manufacturer as my contract was with him and not the manufacturer. He agreed to sort things out on my behalf. He did this ensuring that I was copied into all emails. I had explained the problem and requested a replacement, sent the videos I had recorded. The manufacturer wanted details of the previous return, which I supplied, only for them to respond saying that when the robot went for repair, I had not supplied them with detailed information of the problem (which I had) they had only checked the robot and it was fine so sent it back. They also refused my request of a replacement robot however, offered to collect and repair at their expense. I responded to their email explaining as above and the fact that I was not happy about not being offered a replacement and gave them details as to when they can collect the robot for repair. my anger, I decided to search online for my legal position and realised that the reseller is the one who should be offering me a replacement or full or partial refund. The reseller has simply said to me in an email that I should deal with the manufacturer direct and he will help me where he can. I realise that I should have had this info when the first fault occurred, then I would have been able to demand the refund or replacement. We are now approaching 6 months since I received the goods following my order. Please can someone help me deal with the reseller as I believe that he is responsible as he was paid for the robot and not the manufacturer. I stated in my last email both of them that I was not happy with them refusing to replace the robot and that I did not feel confident that the matter would be properly resolved since they didn't repair it despite me clearly indicating what the fault was. Are there any strongly worded letter templates I could use, or is this a matter for the small claims court against the reseller? I have also asked who is going to pay for my loss of earnings since the robot has not been fit for me to use as I should? Any help would be greatly received! Thanks JS Sorry for such a long post.

Barclays have just told me that the contract is terminated and even paying the arrears in full will not stop the car from being repossessed. Today was the last day for surrender... Anyone know how long it will be before they get a court order or any options available... I pleaded with them on Friday, and though the arrears are only £540, they will take the car and put it in auction where I am due to lose about 2k of the value and that will still be owed to them... HELP PLEASE ! Barclays Partner Finance are in the process of repo my dads car. They have terminated the contract - however the 1/3 rule is very close.. . if its 1/3 of the value still owed against interest upto repo then fine, if based on original term then not... HELP. + they say they will probably go to court proceedings to recover car, but hinted they might just sent a recovery company in.. . no idea of timescales however = would be really good to have an idea, days or weeks? My father (80) purchased a car on HP from CarSupermarket. With his wife having poor health, he decided in Aug to suddenly goto India for 3 months for treatment. With cashflow being tight, he missed Aug and Sept payments. I took over paying and on a 220/month contract, I began paying 80/week except for when I paid 220. Barclays Partner Finance (BPF) were told this is what I am doing, but they couldn't confirm if they were happy as I wasn't the named person on the contract. My father, out in India then, in Oct suffered a stroke himself and was unable to speak and was receiving physio out in India. BPF then sent a termination letter and advising that the car needs to be surrendered or court proceedings will begin. I managed to get my father to ring them and agree that I could speak on his behalf. BPF said you are £504 in arrears and the contract is terminated. I said I can borrow that amount and get it restored to the normal T&Cs - but they rejected it, stating its been in arrears since Aug so NOTHING can be done to restore the contract. PROBLEMS: 1) Car Supermarket when doing the original contract with my father, put the car into my name not his...surely some kind of contract breach 2) I was willing to pay all the arrears, but that was not deemed satisfactory. 3) The car is now to be repossessed and according to BPF - they will instruct their solicitors tomorrow to start doing this. 4) I have paid just under 4k so far, finance amount originally was £9,693. There is now £10,185 outstanding, though the true figure accounting for early settlement would be £7,990 - I don't know what figures to use to see if 1/3 has been paid. 5) no consideration given to the fact that my father is ill, and as such will likely have to stay at least a further 3 months in India as he is unfit to travel. I am totally in a tizz... I dare not risk telling dad his car is to be repossessed but don't know what to do. Please if anyone can help, H.

Hi, I have received a PCN from Premier Park for parking in Exeter Road Car Park in Braunton, Devon. I parked in this carpark for 20 mins at 19:06 and it was dark. I did not realise that it was a paid car park as the notices were not that clear and lighting was low. 'Contrevention date': 2nd November, 2017. The issue date of the PCN: 8th November, 2017. The PCN requests £60 if paid by 14 days from issue date or £100 afterwards. I have googled around and this car park seems to have a history of this issue. I do not live any where near the car park, I cannot get images etc. From what I have read, Premier Park provides images in daylight or with a strong flash to 'prove' that they have enough lighting. I cannot provide this evidence, but even in the images that they have provided on the PCN form shows how dark it is. Could you provide me with any advice for a potential defence. Also, if I apeal to Premier Park (which I expect they will turn down) and then go to POPLA, will this mean that if I am refused, they will charge £100. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi I sold a phone via fb marketplace and he paid into my account. I sent the phone and I assume he has received it as he has now reported me as a [EDIT] to Natwest saying he has received nothing. I have no proof of post. The bank has blocked my access to online banking and use of my card I have no access to my monies. I spoke to them and they said that I am being investigated by the team I am outraged as obviously the person saying I am doing him over is in fact trying to do me over Any how. How will I get my account back and my monies? Also I hear fraud and think of the police. Is this guys games going to get me in trouble? Thanks

Not sure if this is the correct forum so apologies if not but I was wondering what others would do/if anything, with regard to a complaint I made recently about a JCP Advisor. I have been on JSA now for over a year but have been suffering from a vertigo condition (saga is in another thread!!) so I am limited as to what jobs I can apply for. Those that I have applied for and there are over 300 of them, I have been unsuccessful. I had a pretty good advisor to be honest who appreciated my limitations but suddenly out of the blue I was moved to another advisor who was as far as I know newly qualified. On my first meeting with the new advisor I knew I had a problem. I am partially deaf and the advisor had a foreign accent of which I found it difficult to understand. He also looked down continuously when talking thus I could not even lip read him. I kept mentioning my difficulty but he didn't make any effort his end. He was having a nightmare, getting dates for the next signing wrong, being unable to work out when I had last signed and he even went on to criticise my CV at one point so I explained to him that the gentleman who had written my CV was sitting three desks away as he was employed by the DWP as their Careers Advisor so if he had any concerns the Advisor was the best person to talk to. I doubt this went down too well!!! I asked if it was possible to see my old advisor in the future and this gentleman said he would book me in with her the following week so all's well ends well........ Not. The following week I was back again with this new advisor. I politely asked as to why I was back with him and he mentioned that I was with him, end of story. I then stated, once again politely, that because of his accent I struggled to hear him due to my hearing impairment. He then replied "That's not my problem, it is YOUR problem". I'm not easily upset but that I have to be honest rocked me, I was stunned. Maybe it was the stress but moments later I had a vertigo attack and had to sit down for 45 minutes. I wasn't going to do anything about it but thought how can they speak to anyone like that, let alone about a disability, so I wrote to the DWP to complain because I think too often we all just accept the shambolic way they treat claimants. Unsurprisingly they have replied and this fella has denied making such a comment, of course I didn't really expect anything else although if he had said that he had made the comment and apologised I would have accepted that. So I am now not sure what to do. Leave it because I guess it's just my word against his or continue with the complaint? Fortunately they have moved me to a new advisor anyway, although not my original, and she was as nice as pie when I saw her so maybe someone has had a word, although I doubt it. So I guess I will not see this chap again, although he will certainly be in the same office. Half of me says leave it, but the other half says carry on and don't accept their denial. So I was just wondering what others would do? I have attached their letter. Have removed personal information and names. Apologies for the coffee stains, I suspect I spluttered it out when reading the letter!!!! Complaint 1 001.pdf Complaint 2 001.pdf

Hello, My partner has received a 'final notice' from marstons regards to a fine until today she had no knowledge of. After ringing the HMCTS, she found that the fine related to a judgement from April 2017 for not insuring a vehicle she was registered keeper for (she had reported as SORN but admits had no confirmation). Presumably as the vehicle was registered at a previous address then any court documents wouldve gone there. She ignored the first notice from Marstons today they put a 'final notice' through the door threatening that they can break in using a locksmith and remove goods for sale next time they visit. I have advised her that a statutory declaration needs to be done, which she will get signed by solicitor tomorrow afternoon and sent recorded delivery to court. am i correct? As this is deemed as a criminal charge, are they correct in implying they can break in if we are not home? Thanks Forgot to say the amount they are claiming to get back is £660

A couple of weeks ago I had to call a locksmith out (from a call centre number). My key would not turn what appeared to be a jammed deadlock. Using airbags to partially hold open part of the door he used an angle grinder to try and cut through the deadlock but unfortunately the blade was too short by about 2mm. He then decided to use a hammer and chisel with a great amount of force for about 30 - 40 minutes. He aborted the job and I was left locked out. The next day another locksmith came round and used a paddle to hole part of the door open sufficiently enough for him to be able to drill through the lock and gain entry. Once in it was clear that there was quite a lot of damage caused to the UPVCS frame, the wooden frame and to the edge of the door. I complained to the first company who denied that their "engineer" used a hammer even though several of my neighbours signed to say that they had heard the hammering. They are denying responsibility saying " Firstly, I wish to clarify my point regarding the liability of any damaged caused. Each sub-contractor that works for us is required to have Public Liability Insurance to cover himself on jobs should accidental damage be caused. Therefore, if any damage was caused by our engineer Danny, then it would be the engineer personally liable for making further arrangements through his personal insurance. Naturally Keytek would assist as and where required should any of our locksmiths cause damage while on site. Surely my contract was between the Company and not the subcontractor they chose to appoint to the job. All helpful advice welcome. Thanks

Hi CAG, I am hoping for some advice, if you could be so kind. I took out a BC in Jan 2011, and due to a serious marriage break-up, problems with alcohol and depression I lost my job in late 2012, needless to say the last thing on my mind was managing my debt. In a panic I ended up on another forum which I am sure you will know which seems to offer stupid advice. I wrote to BC and asked for a copy of the CCA, they replied with a reconstituted copy of the terms and conditions but no copy of the agreement. Literally a month later they sold the debt (£2000) to Hoist and I do believe I received a notice of assignment, although I cannot be 100% sure. I challenged Hoist to produce a copy of the CCA and a copy of the notice of assignment, they failed to produce any documentation and it all went quiet. Then last year RobisonWay starting trying to collect the debt on behalf of Hoist Around June 2016 I received a letter from RW saying they may pass my account to Cohens for court action I replied explaining BC and Hoist had failed to supply any copy of a CCA and if they wished to instigate legal proceedings then I would defend based on the fact none of the companies could produce a copy of the CCA and under civil procedure rules they would need to supply a copy after issuing a LBA. I challenged them for a copy of the CCA and notice of assignment and they replied they would write to Hoist/BC to get it and were suspending collection activity. About 2 months later I finally received the exact same reconstituted copy of the terms and conditions (which BC had sent me over 2 years previously) and still no copy of a CCA, I emailed RW and told them what they had sent was utter junk and did not fulfill what I had requested, they wrote to em again saying they would suspend activity. I have now received another letter from them in which they claim my credit card application was online and as such does not need a signature, this is UNTRUE, when I applied for the BC in 2011 it was via an application which was received in the post. They have included a copy of the notice of assignment from MKLDP LLP to Hoist and something called "barclaycard cas mart application retrieval" which contains the date the card was applied for, my address, etc but it appears to be an internal document which appears to simply be where they have imputed the postal application on to their system after approval. At least that's what it appears to be. I am currently wondering what should be my next course of action, If I could pay the £2000 off I would, but since my marriage break-up, problems with alcohol, depression and my job loss I have been struggling on benefits which is incredibly hard to do. When I was drinking I could not care about them, but now I am sober and trying to rebuild my life I am worried about this situation. Sorry for such a long-winded post, but if anyone could offer any advice I would be eternally grateful.

At the start of the year we had a new bathroom fitted. We purchased all the furnishings so the quote was for labour only. Due to my wife being allergic to dust it was agreed that the fitting would take place whilst we was on holiday. 75% of the labour charge has been paid to him to date On our return home we was shocked to see our new bathroom. The quality of work in our opinion is below standard, fittings haven't been fitted correctly, damaged has occured to several furnishings, we have had a leak going through our living room ceiling and a second leak on the outside wall due to incorrect exterior pipe work being fitted. The bathroom is dangerous in parts. The fitter says he doesn't have personal liability insurance and was too busy to come back for a while to deal with any of the issues. Several months on we are still in the same position. The fitter believes his work is to a high standard. He admits breaking fittings and admits parts of the bathroom are dangerous but thinks the 25% remainder of the balance will cover it, but it doesn't. We have had 8 different companies come to look at the bathroom and everyone of them says it isn't fitted correctly and the bathroom needs pulling out and starting again. I have had no choice but to take this matter to a small claims court. Initially the fitter replied to us when I made our intentions known and said he was willing to resolve issues and the reason for not being able to contact him for 6 months is because he had phone problems. I believe he was deliberately avoiding us. When I have told him about the leaks etc he has said he is happy to proceed down the small claims court route. I am wanting an independent assessor to come take a look at the bathroom and provide me with a report that will support my claim. How do I go about this? Thanks in advance for any help

Hi all, I've noticed that there are some real horror-show complaints about Advantage Finance on this forum, and I'm here to add to this in my own small way. I would like to mention in advance that I believe some of this stuff to sound implausible, but there is written proof of everything I say here. So, a quick summary of this would be: 1. I bought a car from a dealer, using Advantage for finance for £3000 of the £4000 price. 2. I made several payments on time by DD. 3. I notified them that there were several issues with the car; a - the parking sensors have never been reliable, and this nearly caused a couple of incidents before I realized they were intermittent b - the brakes make a clunking noise and squeal when applied - this wasn't apparent on the test-drive, but has been getting worse c - the brakes also caused one of the tyres to be damaged, and this had to be replaced d - the power steering pump clunks sporadically 4. I got reports on all of these faults from a local Kwik-Fit, and Advantage paid to have the brakes repaired. This did not resolve the issue, however, as the issue persists, and this has also been the subject of another report by the same Kwik-Fit. Advantage refused to pay for the replacement tyre. 5. Some arguments were had with Advantage staff about the car, which I notified them that I wanted to return as faulty as I was within the 6 months, I was unhappy with the number of faults. They refused, and they spoke to me pretty badly. I reminded them that they are a finance company and that I am their customer - they shouldn't be treating everybody who owes them money as if they're some sort of criminal: we're their customer and their sole revenue stream. 6. I sent another report to Advantage from the garage detailing faults 5 months in and they didn't respond. I chased again, they still didn't respond. They have since admitted that this is an accurate description of what happened: I tried to get in contact, they didn't come back to me. This will be important later. 7. I rearranged all my finances and now have all my direct debits paid out of one specific bank account. I provided these details to Advantage in writing 3 weeks before the next payment was due. They wrote back saying that they were declining to accept these details as they weren't provided in a way which they approved. I said I thought providing them in writing was sufficient and that I wanted all future payments to be taken from the account I had specified. At this point in time I was not in arrears and they had loads of time to arrange the direct debit. I genuinely felt like they were treating me the way they were because of the previous arguments over my attempt to return the car as faulty; it always felt like I was being drawn into an argument. 8. I received a call from Advantage I was told again that they were not accepting the direct debit information. said, and I quote: "I sent the same details to providers of my car insurance, home insurance, car tax, and lots of other companies. gave them to you in loads of time and if it's good enough for the DVLA then I don't see why it's not good enough for you. now you're deliberately inconveniencing me and trying to justify it by quoting some technicality." The agent tried to tell me off for swearing at her, I said that in the context I used the word I wasn't swearing AT her, and she hung up. I then received a letter from Advantage which demanded a written apology for my conduct and threatened me with police action for the virulent verbal abuse I had subjected their member of staff to. I ignored this threat, of course. 9. Advantage set up a direct debit with my bank, using the details I had provided to them. This was confirmed by my bank, in writing: they set up the direct debit, they were fully capable of taking payment on the agreed payment date. Advantage then sent me confirmation in writing that they had set up the direct debit, and would be taking payment. 10. I then received a Termination notice in the mail which said that since I had refused to make payment they had cancelled the agreement and would be going to court in order to repossess my car. I called them and was told this was an administration error, that this letter should never have been sent out. 11. Advantage did not take payment on the agreed DD date. I then found a note on my doormat from some collection 'agent' saying he'd been to collect the car, and I wasn't home. This note demanded that I surrender the car. 12. I did not surrender the car, and I told Advantage I would be making a complaint through the FOS. 13. I complained to the FOS, citing: a - Advantage's refusal to deal with the fact that the car was faulty when sold b - Advantage's refusal to allow me to reject a car as faulty, despite my provision of several garage reports within six months of purchase c - Advantage refusing to take payment, despite setting up the Direct Debit d - Advantage lodging a default notice against me, and putting this on my credit file despite the fact I had never once refused to pay them, and despite the fact that they had full access to the payment, having a direct debit established and then not taking the money, and despite the fact that I can prove that there were funds in the account more than sufficient to cover the direct debit amount. I provided all of this detail in writing to the FOS, I was sure that my case was strong because I had shown good faith continued to make payments even when Advantage refused to uphold their obligations relating to the faults on the car and my rejection of said car, proved that I had not only provided the details with time to spare but that Advantage had used them to set up a direct debit and then not taken payment. How could I lose? 14. The FOS adjudicator somehow came to the conclusion that even though Advantage had complete access to the money and didn't take it, they were within their rights to cancel the agreement, and not only am I the one being "obstructive" (she somehow thought that even though it was Advantage refusing to respond to me, which they admitted, it was all my fault for "refusing to engage with Advantage", see point #6), but that I'm also liable for the entire balance of the agreement. Advantage have done nothing wrong, apparently, and I'm the one in the wrong, because I had an argument with one of Advantage's people on the phone a year ago. She also described this as a "favourable" outcome for me, which actually made me burst out laughing. 15. My bank manager told me he's never seen anything like this, and said that he's never seen before a case where the FOS have found in favor of a company who have outright refused to take payment, even after sending me confirmation that they would be taking payment. He was also the guy who provided me with the proof that the direct debit was set up with more than enough time to take payment on the agreed date. 16. I'm absolutely sure that a financial agreement includes two-way obligations, and that both parties need to be held to the same standards. I'm agreeing to make payments, and they're agreeing to facilitate that. I don't honestly see how Advantage can cancel an agreement in this way, for no good reason, and I'm still being held over the fire. I'm not up on breach-of-contract law, but this seems to me to be a clear breach, and now I'm faced with either finding the money to repay in full, entering into another agreement with the company who have already screwed me over at even worse terms than before, or having my car taken away and being liable for any disparity between whatever price they sell it for and the balance on the agreement. 17. I'm amazed that I can put my finances in order, so that part of my salary is automatically transferred into a separate account meant for the purpose of paying my bills, and now I find myself with a huge debt and a default against my name. Can anyone advise on what my next course of action might be?

Hi There I have recently recieved a letter from PRA group regarding an old payday loan i took out with lending stream back in March 2010, which it says is the date of loan agreement on the letter. Am i right in saying this debt is now statute barred? Do i contact PRA group at all or do i just ignore the letter? Thanks in advance